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Jinshu Kong
Originally called Tian Kong, the imperial city is the largest in southern Zimildran, and commands the southern coastline between Pukisho and the Shadewood. Its great harbors are a testament to the importance of fishing in Kotokai culture, and to their drive for exploration beyond the coasts of the known world. The city itself is built on both the upper and lower portions of a ridgeline, the higher elevations composing the imperial structures, wealthy housing, and upper markets, while the parts at sea level are the east and west harbors, the lower class housing, warehouses, and fish markets. While it was Tian Kong, the city had an immense Shen temple in its upper portions, which formed the western point of the Imperial Gardens, with the Grand Library forming the eastern point, and the Imperial Palace forming the southern. After Emperor Okuro Urtada came into power in Kotokai, however, the teachings of the Shen priests became outlawed. The Shen Temple was vacated, those who studied there forced out, and the structure was repurposed to be a foreign embassy office for visiting diplomats. The Shen priests were disheartened at their relocation, their already questionable support of the Urtada Dynasty and this new emperor now snuffed out completely. They took up residence at the various Shen temples outside the Imperial City, despite the commoners’ protests in Tian Kong that the temple remain open as a place of worship. The protests were lively, but did not grow violent until after the Emperor Okuro ordered the Gonglu temple in the northwest to be ransacked, its inhabitants beaten and some even killed. With the practicing of the Shen teachings recently outlawed, the attack was ordered by one of the empire’s greatest commanders, Uzumikoku. The assault on the Gonglu temple was meant to be the first in a long line of attacks, all led by Uzumikoku, and all in the name of the empire. However, the attack on the temple, while successful, sparked new energy in the protestors of the imperial city, which was now officially changed to be known as Jinshu Kong. Riots broke out, and it didn’t take long for the Emperor to see what effects Uzumikoku’s campaign was having on the people in his city. Fearing an outright civil war with supporters of the Shen teachings, the Emperor called off his commander and changed the law. Practicing the ways of the Shen was now only forbidden within the city proper. This was enough to quiet the disputes in the streets, and order was restored to Jinshu Kong, though it was tenuous at best, always feeling on the verge of breaking once again. From Jinshu Kong springs much of Kotokai’s foreign efforts. Trading and merchant vessels sail east, around Zimildran’s coast to the Snowmarcher lands in the north. Trade is strong between the Imperial City and her port neighbors, such as Glimmerridge, Freedom’s Port, and Zarofet. In addition to such a strong naval economy, the Urtada Empire also has reliable diplomatic ties to the Covenant of Harsonia and the House of Merchants. Following his desire to ‘modernize’ the traditional city, the Emperor was quick to approve the building of an Office for the House of Merchants within Jinshu Kong, and selling goods in the city now falls under all of the laws that it does for Harsonia and Canyon City, much to the House’s delight and the citizens’ distaste. Even the Academy of Engineers has a small handful of modest workshops in the city. They are but a short distance away from the Foreign Embassy, where Knight Commanders and other government officials stay while visiting the city. And it is often that Knight Commanders visit Jinshu Kong, and the Emperor is pleased to share counsel with them in the Imperial Palace. Most recently, the Knight Commanders are trying to use their relationship with the Empire to gain an official port within Jinshu Kong in order to give Harsonia the start towards a strong naval presence. The Emperor, a worldly man though he is, is reluctant to give such ground to Harsonia, even with as much trust as he gives his northern neighbors. He knows that Kotokai’s naval superiority is challenged only by the Snowmarchers, and that challenge is not much of a worry simply because the Snowmarcher Clans can be so divided. The Emperor believes that, as long as the Empire lays claim to the southern coastlines west of the Shadewood and east of Ukinda, then the Harsonians will be forced to look greater distances for their coveted harbor, ensuring Kotokai’s position on the high seas is preserved, at least for the time being.